Adjustable angle oscillating fan

ABSTRACT

The adjustable angle oscillating fan comprises of a base with a mounting post to which is mounted a motor housing with an enclosed electric motor. The control for the fan speed is generally located in the base but may alternatively be positioned on the mounting post. The fan is affixed to one end of the electric motor axle. A fan cage is mounted to the motor housing and encloses the fan blades. A reduction gear box is affixed to the other end of the electric motor axle. The reduction gear box conveys the torque from the electric motor at a reduced rotational speed to a vertical axle extending generally below the electric motor. The adjustable mechanism is mounted at or near the bottom end of the vertical axle. The adjustable mechanism comprises of a flexible elongated member with a narrow section between its two ends. An adjustment means is connected to an end of the flexible elongated member and moves the end of the flexible elongated member vertically up and down. A pivoting arm connects the narrow section of the flexible elongated member to a fixed post on the base near the motor housing mounting post. The oscillating angle of the fan is varied depending on the distance of the narrow section from the vertical axle. The end user only needs to adjust the adjustable mechanism to move the narrow section&#39;s location to adjust the oscillating angle of the fan.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an oscillating electric fan.More specifically, the present invention relates to a mechanism foradjusting the oscillating angle of an oscillating electric fan.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventional oscillating electric fan generally comprises of a base witha mounting post to which is mounted a motor housing. The control for thefan speed is generally located in the base. The fan, generally comprisesof plastic fan blades but may also be made of metal, is affixed to oneend of the electric motor axle. A fan cage is mounted to the motorhousing and encloses the fan blades. A reduction gear box is affixed tothe other end of the electric motor axle. The reduction gear box conveysthe torque from the electric motor at a reduced rotational speed to asmall disc generally located under the electric motor. A pin is affixedat a fixed radius from the center of the disc. A pivoting arm connectsthe pin to a fixed post on the base near the motor housing mountingpost. As the electric motor is activated, the fan blades would rotateand generate air movement. The disc under the motor housing would alsorotate, although at a much slower rotational speed, and oscillate themotor housing. This results in an electric fan that would move its headleft and right through a predetermined fixed arc. Traditionally, onlythe speed of the electric motor, thereby, the rotational speed of thefan, can be adjusted by the end user.

Furthermore, the relatively simplistic design and small number of partsin the conventional oscillating electric fan results in lowmanufacturing cost and retail price of the product. Therefore, tomaintain the competitiveness and low cost of the design, anymodification would necessarily require minimal changes to the existingstructure and design of the oscillating electric fan and with the leastnumber of parts required.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an adjustable mechanism for adjustable angleoscillating fan. The mechanism would enable the adjustable angleoscillating fan to oscillate at various oscillating angles controllableby the end user. The adjustable mechanism is simple to operate and isreliable due to the minimal number of parts. The adjustable mechanismhas relatively few parts and generally has a simple design to minimizechanges to existing structure and to enable low production costs. Theadjustable mechanism will enable the production of the adjustable angleoscillating electric fans at virtually the same cost as conventionaloscillating electric fans and with virtually the same number of parts inthe product.

The adjustable angle oscillating fan comprises of a base with a mountingpost to which is mounted a motor housing with an enclosed electricmotor. The control for the fan speed is generally located in the base.The control may also be positioned on the mounting post. The fan isaffixed to one end of the electric motor axle. A fan cage is mounted tothe motor housing and encloses the fan blades. A reduction gear box isaffixed to the other end of the electric motor axle. The reduction gearbox conveys the torque from the electric motor at a reduced rotationalspeed to a vertical axle extending generally below the electric motor.The adjustable mechanism is mounted at or near the bottom end of thevertical axle.

The adjustable mechanism comprises of a one-piece flexible elongatedmember with a narrow section between its two ends. The top end of theflexible elongated member is attached to the bottom of the verticalaxle. The bottom end of the flexible elongated member is attached to anadjustment means which moves the bottom end vertically up and down. Apivoting arm connects the flexible elongated member at the narrowsection to a fixed post on the base near the motor housing mountingpost. As the bottom end of the flexible elongated member is moved up bythe adjustment means, the flexible elongated member will bend at thenarrow section thereby increasing the distance between the end of thepivoting arm and the axis of the vertical axle. As the bottom end of theflexible elongated member is moved down by the adjustment means, theflexible elongated member will straighten thereby moving the narrowsection with the end of the pivoting arm closer to the axis of thevertical axle. As the electric motor is activated, the fan blades wouldrotate and generate air movement. The vertical axle would also rotate,although at a much slower rotational speed, and oscillate the motorhousing and the fan. The oscillating angle of the fan is varieddepending on the distance of the narrow section from the vertical axle.The end user only needs to adjust the position of the narrow sectionthrough the adjustment means to adjust the oscillating angle of the fan.

Alternatively, the flexible elongated member may comprise of tworelatively rigid members pivotally joined at one end resulting in astructure similar to the one-piece flexible elongated member. A furtherembodiment of the adjustable device comprises of two relatively rigidmembers each with an end pivotally connected to an end of a thirdrelatively rigid member thereby forming a similar structure to theone-piece flexible elongated member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a conventional free-standing oscillatingelectric fan.

FIG. 2 shows a rear view of a conventional free-standing oscillatingelectric fan.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of the adjustablemechanism.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of the adjustablemechanism in an adjustable angle oscillating fan.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of another embodiment of the adjustablemechanism.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of another embodiment of the adjustablemechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description and figures are meant to be illustrative onlyand not limiting. Other embodiments of this invention will be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art in view of this description.

A conventional oscillating electric fan is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Aconventional oscillating electric fan generally comprises of a base 1with a mounting post 2 to which is mounted a motor housing 3. Thecontrol 4 for the fan speed is generally located in the base 1 but mayalternatively be positioned on the mounting post 2. The fan 5 is affixedto one end of the electric motor axle 6. A fan cage 7 is mounted to themotor housing 3 and encloses the fan blades 5. A reduction gear box 8 isaffixed to the other end of the electric motor axle 6. Extending fromthe top of the reduction gear box is a knob 9 for stopping theoscillation of the fan. When the knob 9 is pulled the transfer gear isdisengaged from the electric motor 10 and the connection to theoscillating mechanism 11 is disengaged. The reduction gear box 8 conveysthe torque from the electric motor 10 at a reduced rotational speedthrough a vertical axle 15 to the oscillating mechanism 11, which is asmall disc 12 generally located under the electric motor 10. A pin 13 isaffixed at a fixed radius from the center of the disc 12. A pivoting arm14 connects the pin 13 to a fixed post on the base near the motorhousing 3 mounting post 2. As the electric motor 10 is activated, thefan blades 5 would rotate and generate air movement. The disc 12 underthe electric motor 10 would also rotate, although at a much slowerrotational speed, and oscillate the motor housing 3.

The present invention is an adjustable mechanism to change theoscillating angle of an adjustable angle oscillating fan. The adjustablemechanism replaces the disc 12 and the pin 13. The adjustable mechanismis mounted at or near the bottom end of the vertical axle 15. In thepreferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the adjustablemechanism comprises of a one-piece flexible elongated member 16 with anarrow section 17 between its two ends 18, 19. The top end 18 of theflexible elongated member 16 is attached to the bottom of the verticalaxle 15. The bottom end 19 of the flexible elongated member 16 isattached to an adjustment means 20 which moves the bottom end 19vertically up and down.

In the preferred embodiment, the adjustment means 20 is a threadedmember which engages a fixed member with corresponding threads. One endof the threaded member is provided with a knob 21 that can be rotated toraise or lower the threaded member against the flexible elongated member16. The other end of the threaded member is rotatably engaged to thebottom end 19 of the flexible elongated member 16 with a ball joint typeof connection. Alternatively, the threaded member may be rotated by astep-motor to raise or lower the threaded member against the flexibleelongated member 16.

One end of the pivoting arm 14 connects to the flexible elongated member16 at the narrow section 17 while the other end of the pivoting arm 14connects to the fixed post on the base near the motor housing mountingpost 2. The connections at both ends of the pivoting arm 14 are suchthat the pivoting arm 14 can freely rotate around the flexible elongatedmember 16 and the fixed post. In the preferred embodiment, the pivotingarm 14 has a hole at each of its end through which the flexible elongatemember 16 and the fixed post is inserted.

As the bottom end of the flexible elongated member 16 is moved up by theadjustment means 20, the flexible elongated member 16 will bend at thenarrow section 17 thereby increasing the distance between the end of thepivoting arm 14 and the axis of the vertical axle 15. As the bottom end19 of the flexible elongated member 16 is moved down by the adjustmentmeans 20, the flexible elongated member 16 will straighten therebymoving the narrow section 17 with the end of the pivoting arm 14 closerto the axis of the vertical axle 15.

As the electric motor 10 is activated, the fan blades 5 would rotate andgenerate air movement. The vertical axle 15 would also rotate, althoughat a much slower rotational speed, and oscillate the motor housing 3 andthe fan. The oscillating angle of the fan is varied depending on thedistance of the narrow section 17 from the vertical axle 15. The enduser only needs to adjust the position of the narrow section 17 throughthe adjustment means 20 to adjust the oscillating angle of the fan.

Alternatively, the adjustable mechanism may comprise of two relativelyrigid elongated members 22, 23 pivotally joined at one end 24, 25resulting in a structure similar to the one-piece flexible elongatedmember 16, as shown in FIG. 5. The cross-section of the end 24, 25 thatis pivotally joined is preferably of a smaller diameter such that theend of the pivoting arm 14 can rotatably attach at the joint and rotatefreely without binding. This alternate embodiment does not use aflexible material thereby eliminates any possible fatigue of thematerial due to bending and straightening at the joint.

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the adjustable mechanism comprisingtwo relatively rigid members 26, 27 each with an end pivotally connectedto a different end of a third relatively rigid member 28 thereby forminga similar structure to the one-piece flexible elongated member 16. Thethird relatively rigid member 28 is preferably of a smaller diametersuch that the end of the pivoting arm 14 can rotatably attach to themember 28 and rotate freely without binding. This embodiment also doesnot use a flexible material thereby eliminates any possible fatigue ofthe material due to bending and straightening at the joint.

Although the invention has been described in terms of particularembodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in lightof this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modificationswithout departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of theclaimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawingsand descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitatecomprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit thescope thereof.

1. An adjustable mechanism to change the oscillating angle of anadjustable angle oscillating fan comprising a flexible elongated memberwith a narrow section between its two ends wherein a first end of saidflexible elongated member is attached to a bottom end of a vertical axlein a fan and a second end of said flexible elongated member is attachedto an adjustment means which moves said second end of said flexibleelongated member vertically up and down.
 2. An adjustable mechanism tochange the oscillating angle of an adjustable angle oscillating fan asin claim 1, wherein said flexible elongated member is made from a singleunitary piece of material.
 3. An adjustable mechanism to change theoscillating angle of an adjustable angle oscillating fan as in claim 1,wherein said adjustment means is a threaded member which engages a fixedmember on said fan with corresponding threads.
 4. An adjustablemechanism to change the oscillating angle of an adjustable angleoscillating fan as in claim 3, wherein a first end of said threadedmember is provided with a knob that can be rotated to raise or lower thethreaded member against said flexible elongated member and a second endof said threaded member is rotatably engaged to said second end of saidflexible elongated member with a ball joint type of connection.
 5. Anadjustable mechanism to change the oscillating angle of an adjustableangle oscillating fan comprising a first rigid elongated member and asecond rigid elongated member pivotally joined at an end.
 6. Anadjustable mechanism to change the oscillating angle of an adjustableangle oscillating fan as in claim 5, wherein said end that is pivotallyjoined has a smaller cross section than the rigid elongated members. 7.An adjustable mechanism to change the oscillating angle of an adjustableangle oscillating fan comprising a first rigid elongated member and asecond rigid elongated member each with an end pivotally connected to aseparate end of a third member.
 8. An adjustable mechanism to change theoscillating angle of an adjustable angle oscillating fan as in claim 7,wherein said third member has a smaller cross section than said firstrigid elongated member and said second rigid elongated members.